The World Aids Day is an opportune platform for The International Community of Women Living with HIV Eastern Africa (ICWEA) to pay tribute to advocates of the HIV response but also show progress made in responding to the epidemic and recommit to ending the epidemic.
ICWEA would like to take this opportunity to thank the Government of Uganda, partners and all stakeholders for the initiative and work done to help in fighting this epidemic.
Since we are not yet at zero, more still needs to be done. As Women living with HIV. We believe that achieving zero new infections, zero discrimination and zero AIDs related deaths for us is possible only if efforts to improve health services delivery and accountability have at the forefront, meaningful representation of women living with HIV in budget and planning reviews at all levels.
As women living with HIV, we believe that the following things need to be given urgent attention;
End the AIDS epidemic through universal treatment, high impact prevention and human rights.
Currently there about 1.6 million people leaving with HIV who are in need of treatment and of these 7.3% are women. But only about 750,000 can access these life saving drugs.
A lot of support is coming from donors like- PEPFAR and Global Fund. Government of Uganda only supports 150,000 patients, this number should be increased. All patients that test HIV positive must be treated immediately according to the World Health Organisation guidelines.
Currently there are sporadic stocks out of ARVs in the country. Without treatment, more people are likely to die.
Increase health sector funding
Our government currently invests approximately about Shs38,000 per person per year on health much less that WHO’s estimate of Shs160,000 per year as the minimum amount of money to be spent per person in order to cater for the basic health needs of a population.
There is an urgent need to increase the funding for the health sector and prioritize those areas that would immediately save lives, protect communities, improve livelihoods and make the health system functional, particularly at the local level.
Promote access to sexual and reproductive health and rights; stop violence against women
Violence against Women and lack of control over reproductive health generates trauma and significant health and economic consequences. Women have had unsafe abortions, teenage pregnancies and obstetric fistula. HIV infection alone increases the risk of violence.
In Uganda, about 435 deaths happen out of every 100,000 births, an estimate of 6000 women dying every year, 16 everyday. This means that every one and a half hours Uganda loses an expectant woman; most deaths are caused by avoidable circumstances. These deaths are three times higher than the target of 131 deaths per 100,000 live births set to be achieved by 2015. Additionally, 42% of the births are not assisted by health personnel.
Oppose discriminatory laws and policies that impede access and undermine the right to health.
Some clauses in the HIV law are discriminatory and undermine effective HIV prevention efforts and health service delivery. This is because they fuel stigma and discourage people from seeking diagnosis and treatment.
Economically empower women living with HIV
Poverty is the leading cause of all household vulnerability and it explains failure to access social, economic and other relevant services.
Women are the most poverty hit population in Uganda. Most populations have to endure 7.7km and/or 6.2 km to access a government and/or a non- government health facility respectively.
Government economic support systems should pay attention to vulnerable groups like women living with HIV. They should therefore support women living with HIV with sustainability livelihood programs such as SACCOs and equip them with hands on skills.
